Updated 9:17 am, Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Photo: Darlene Lim And NASA - JPL - CALTECH - Cornell

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Mars is where it's at.

Not only is NASA's human spaceflight program – and many of its political supporters – still focused on a voyage to the Red Planet, the planetary folks have some great expectations there as well. A new Mars rover should arrive in 2020, as will a rover from the European Space Agency. SpaceX hopes to land its Red Dragon unmanned craft there as well. And a Chinese lander is expected. Said Green: "2020 will see quite the traffic jam. Mars is going to be very, very busy." He added that NASA hopes to put an instrument or two on the SpaceX craft.

The orbital reconnaissance craft recently named Europa Clipper is in great shape, fiscally and politically speaking, for its launch sometime in the 2020s. It will make multiple fly-bys of the Jupiter moon, where many scientists believe some form of life might be lurking in its very cold oceans. Green said NASA is in the early stages of planning for Europa, Part Two, which would be a lander that could actually send a probe down through the heavy and thick ice sheet into the murky depths.

Cubesats are all the rage. The petite box-sized instruments will soon be everywhere in low Earth orbit, serving a variety of purposes, but they also have a place on planetary missions. Green said that eight of these mini-satellites have been approved in connection with a number of upcoming missions, and 13 will be carried aloft on the first mission involving the Space Launch System. Although power limitations suggested they might be of little use in places so far away, Green suggested otherwise, knowing that improvements in them are inevitable. Cubesats and their larger cousin Smallsats can augment the capabilities of larger missions or be used to make highly specific measurements. And they don't take up much payload room.

Expected to launch in 2018, the James Webb Space Telescope is expected to be the next great observatory, with greater capability than even the vaunted Hubble, especially in the infrared wavelengths. Scientists were told to get their suggestions in ASAP for objects it should look at. With a nominal lifespan of only five years, the Webb should see a lot of demand for its time. Green said those who are interested should make their proposals early, in the first cycle of proposals. Each subsequent year will see competition intensify, he said.

Although it is not the sexiest of targets for planetary scientists, there could opportunities arising when NASA gets around to building a deep space habitation module near the moon. Currently five companies are producing prototypes of a living space to be placed somewhere in the vicinity. That should present opportunities similar to that of the current International Space Station. Ben Bussey, chief exploration scientist for NASA's human exploration division, urged those present to think of some things that could be done with such a facility, part of the NextSTEP Phase 2 program. Not everyone can go to Europa.

The new engineering analysis, touted by Apollo luminaries such as astronaut Buzz Aldrin and flight director Chris Kraft, suggests the agency could put humans on the moon by 2021 for about $10 billion, and establish a permanent presence later that decade. less

10 things you need to know about NASA's plan go to the moon, Mars

The new engineering analysis, touted by Apollo luminaries such as astronaut Buzz Aldrin and flight director Chris Kraft, suggests the agency ... more

Photo: Buzz Aldrin On Instagram

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NASA's rocket

By contrast, NASA’s current plans to use its own significantly more expensive vehicles would only allow the space agency to fly around the moon in the mid-2020s.

By contrast, NASA’s current plans to use its own significantly more expensive vehicles would only allow the space agency to fly around the moon in the mid-2020s.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Houston Chronicle

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Mars in 2030

NASA argues that by building its own large rocket, the Space Launch System, it is setting the stage for a Mars landing by its astronauts in the 2030s.

NASA argues that by building its own large rocket, the Space Launch System, it is setting the stage for a Mars landing by its astronauts in the 2030s.

Photo: NASA/MSFC

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Unrealistic goals

However, given NASA’s existing budget, several independent analyses have concluded the agency’s current Mars plans are unrealistic. One particularly influential report by the National Research Commission, published in 2014, also suggested it was a mistake not to consider the moon as a stepping stone to Mars. less

However, given NASA’s existing budget, several independent analyses have concluded the agency’s current Mars plans are unrealistic. One particularly influential report by the National Research Commission, ... more

Photo: HO, Handout

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Deep space

The new study, independently reviewed by NASA’s former head of human spaceflight Joe Rothenberg and other experts, does just that. It offers a potentially much less expensive and sustainable pathway to deep space, while also nurturing America’s burgeoning commercial space industry. less

The new study, independently reviewed by NASA’s former head of human spaceflight Joe Rothenberg and other experts, does just that. It offers a potentially much less expensive and sustainable pathway to deep ... more

Photo: NASA

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Private rockets

The plans call for SpaceX and United Launch Alliance rockets to first send robotic scouts and prospectors to the moon later this decade, human landings in private spacecraft in the 2020s, and the development of systems to extract water ice from the poles and convert it into hydrogen and oxygen. less

The plans call for SpaceX and United Launch Alliance rockets to first send robotic scouts and prospectors to the moon later this decade, human landings in private spacecraft in the 2020s, and the development of ... more

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High cost of fuel

Exploration into the solar system would be a lot cheaper if NASA didn’t have to bring all of its fuel with it from the ground. It costs $10,000, or more, to lift a pound of propellant from Earth. And to send humans and everything they need to survive on Mars will require hundreds of tons of fuel. less

Exploration into the solar system would be a lot cheaper if NASA didn’t have to bring all of its fuel with it from the ground. It costs $10,000, or more, to lift a pound of propellant from Earth. And to send ... more

Photo: Red Huber, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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Moon base

The new study finds that establishing a four-person station at a lunar pole could allow for the production of 200 tons of water per year by the early 2030s. This could transform the moon into a gas station of sorts to provide cheap fuel for NASA missions to Mars or elsewhere deeper into the solar system. less

The new study finds that establishing a four-person station at a lunar pole could allow for the production of 200 tons of water per year by the early 2030s. This could transform the moon into a gas station of ... more

Photo: Neil A. Armstrong, HOGP

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Budget

NASA devotes less than a quarter of its budget to deep space exploration, spending $3 to $4 billion annually on development of the Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft and launch pads it intends to use to fly humans beyond low-Earth orbit in the mid-2020s. less

NASA devotes less than a quarter of its budget to deep space exploration, spending $3 to $4 billion annually on development of the Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft and launch pads it intends to use ... more

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Houston Chronicle

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Congressional priorities

The new analysis determined that within that budget wedge NASA could instead develop a human settlement on the moon with much cheaper private rockets. Congress, however, supports NASA’s effort to build the large Space Launch System rocket and the jobs it provides in many states. less

The new analysis determined that within that budget wedge NASA could instead develop a human settlement on the moon with much cheaper private rockets. Congress, however, supports NASA’s effort to build the ... more

While overall science funding was slashed substantially in the outline of President Trump's budget sent to Congress, the scientists gathered in The Woodlands for the 48th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference received an upbeat message from NASA officials in a briefing Monday evening.

And so it did, with only a one percent cut. That was good news to both the human exploration side, which supports the International Space Station and is involved in building a large new rocket and capsule for deeper space exploration, and for the planetary scientists whose long list of past and present missions throughout the solar system have provided some of the agency's greatest achievements. Fearing the worst, NASA saw only a significant hit to its Earth science programs, which will lose several missions as a result.

The budget proposal is only that. Whether Congress will restore funding for Earth science, which assists research into climate change and its effects, is uncertain. With Republicans in charge, climate research and the instruments that support it could have less political support when budget authorizations are finalized. The Trump administration has said it wants NASA to focus on deep space exploration and leave terrestrial research to other agencies, many of which will receive far more drastic budget cuts under the outline presented.

That did not sit well with those in attendance, who called for their organizations and members to lobby Congress on behalf of the threatened missions, several of which were to launch satellites in the next few years.

Click through the slideshow above to see some of the takeaways from the Monday briefing.